The Last Days
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Lesson 43 | 10/19/25
Revelation 10 | The Mystery of Redemption
Today we are looking at chapter 10 and in this chapter, we will see the Mystery of God’s Redemption continue to be revealed as the events of the Tribulation continue to escalate. Let’s begin by reading Revelation 10:1-11.
Chapter 10 is another interlude, a much-needed pause after the darkness of chapter 9 and seeing two of the three devastating woe Judgements, the fifth and sixth Trumpets unleash hell on an unbelieving world. This book is truly bitter-sweet, just as John experienced, I think we too are going through something similar as we go through this book. So, we now find ourselves in chapter 10, having wrapped up the events of the 6th Trumpet in chapter 9, bring us up to the middle of the Tribulation week. We are now at the 3-1/2 year mark when things start really heating up. Having just seen the 6th Trumpet sound, you would expect verse 1 to read something like we see in Revelation 11:14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. But notice, it’s not until the end of chapter 11 that we see the 3rd woe, the 7th Trumpet sound.
So just like the pause between the 6-7 Seals, there is an interlude between the 6-7 Trumpets. A pause in the succession of the story. If we recognize this pattern, it helps us understand the progression of the chronological order of Revelation. These interludes are so important because they always fill in details along the way. And here in Chapter 10 we see there is a slight pause as God begins revealing more to John before the 7th Trumpet sounds and the bowls are poured out. This interlude here at the middle of the Tribulation Week, is quite long... spanning about 6 chapters.
In chapter 10, before the last half of the Tribulation begins, John is given a glimpse of what is to come, and in this, we see the heart of God and His plan of redemption for His Church. We see the purpose of this devastation and the Mystery of His Redemption being fulfilled.
Let’s start with verse 1...
10:1) I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
The next 3-1/2 years of this prophecy are devastating as God’s wrath continues to be unleashed, and John gets a glimpse of this. The scroll is open, and John is told to eat it...
10:8-10) 8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” 9 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.
God’s Word is soooooooo sweet, sweet as honey, Psalm 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Many times in Scripture we are told to feed on His Word, feed on His Faithfulness, feed on Jesus, Ps 37:3; 19:10; John 6; Matt 4:4; Deut 8:3.
But as we feed on His Word, especially prophecy, there are chapters like Revelation chapter 9 that will make us sick when we truly understand the magnitude of the devastation of the Judgement coming.
10:11) And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
PREVIOUS LESSON 42 ← GO TO → NEXT LESSON 44
Chapter 10 is another interlude, a much-needed pause after the darkness of chapter 9 and seeing two of the three devastating woe Judgements, the fifth and sixth Trumpets unleash hell on an unbelieving world. This book is truly bitter-sweet, just as John experienced, I think we too are going through something similar as we go through this book. So, we now find ourselves in chapter 10, having wrapped up the events of the 6th Trumpet in chapter 9, bring us up to the middle of the Tribulation week. We are now at the 3-1/2 year mark when things start really heating up. Having just seen the 6th Trumpet sound, you would expect verse 1 to read something like we see in Revelation 11:14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. But notice, it’s not until the end of chapter 11 that we see the 3rd woe, the 7th Trumpet sound.
So just like the pause between the 6-7 Seals, there is an interlude between the 6-7 Trumpets. A pause in the succession of the story. If we recognize this pattern, it helps us understand the progression of the chronological order of Revelation. These interludes are so important because they always fill in details along the way. And here in Chapter 10 we see there is a slight pause as God begins revealing more to John before the 7th Trumpet sounds and the bowls are poured out. This interlude here at the middle of the Tribulation Week, is quite long... spanning about 6 chapters.
- Chapter 10 creates this pause revealing more of what is to come.
- Chapter 11 brings us back to the beginning of the Tribulation and introduces us to the Two Witnesses and their ministry up to their martyrdom at the middle of the week.
- Then we see the 7th Trumpet blow and there is rejoicing in heaven, Rev 11:15-19
- but this is such a big deal, like the crescendo of a symphony, that we see another interlude before the bowls start that spans chapters 12-15.
- Chapter 12 goes back all the way to the beginning of time and spans up to the middle of the week
- Chapter 13 fills in some more details at the middle of the week with the antichrist coming to power
- Chapter 14 shows us the martyrdom of the 144,000 and the continued oppression of the antichrist
- Chapter 15 is the prelude leading up to the 7 bowl judgements that begin in chapter 16.
In chapter 10, before the last half of the Tribulation begins, John is given a glimpse of what is to come, and in this, we see the heart of God and His plan of redemption for His Church. We see the purpose of this devastation and the Mystery of His Redemption being fulfilled.
Let’s start with verse 1...
10:1) I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
- Angel of the Lord- Jesus Christ? Similar description, but probably not Jesus, v.5
- ἄλλον ἄγγελον an angel of the same kind like the 7 angels who stand before God or the 8th angel at the altar, Rev 8:2-3; the angel given the key to the pit of the Abussos, Rev 9:1
- this angel has come as a messenger of Jesus, in His likeness, to pronounce Jesus’ authority on the earth
- feet like pillars of fire proclaiming judgement on the whole earth... sea and land, v.2
- The angel’s feet are like pillars of fire, and he sets his right foot on the sea and left on the land
- Symbolizing the whole world... the nations (sea) and Israel (land)
- He had a little book, βιβλαρίδιον, from the root βιβλίον- scroll, Rev 5:2
- This scroll that is in the angel’s hand is probably the same scroll as Revelation 5, (this strong angel could even be the same strong angel in chapter 5)
- but now it is presented as smaller because it is unsealed, Rev 8:1.
- Notice the scroll is open in the angel’s hand.
- All 7 seals have been unsealed from the scroll and Jesus’ rightful authority to God’s Kingdom is made known to the whole world.
- This scroll that is in the angel’s hand is probably the same scroll as Revelation 5, (this strong angel could even be the same strong angel in chapter 5)
- John hears three voices
- One voice from the angel like a lion
- 7 thunders utter their voices
- A voice from heaven saying... do not write
- Shows the present conscious state of John. As the visions are coming to him, he is writing it down.
- So far John has been commanded to write everything being shown to him, Rev 1:19
- But here, he is given direct orders from heaven to “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”
- Which means, he understood what was said in the thunders, but not allowed to write it.
- Why not? Obviously, there is something still veiled in this revelation
- Even now, with the revelation of the New Covenant, Paul says we look through a glass darkly, 1 Cor 13:12.
- Which means, he understood what was said in the thunders, but not allowed to write it.
- Any attempt to guess as to what was said is only conjecture.
- We can assume these thunders were speaking of certain details of the Tribulation, probably the last half of the Tribulation week, but specifics are unknown
- This may not be something God is keeping from us, but rather, He wants to keep it veiled from the enemy as He did about the cross, 1 Corinthians 2:7-10.
- If God wants us to know what He said, He will reveal it to us through His Spirit and His Word.
- I am not saying I know what these 7 thunders said, but I do have a few ideas of my own that are revealed in verse 7 when we get there...
- Let’s look at something similar in Daniel 12:4-7; Daniel 10:1-6.
- Now, overlay this with Revelation 10:4-7.
- The same angel clothed in linen in Daniel 10 and 12 could be the same strong angel here in Revelation 10.
- Just as the mystery of God will be finished in the days of the 7th Trumpet, Daniel also says at the end of time, times, and half a time, all these things will be finished, Daniel 12:7.
- We’re dealing with the same 3-1/2 year time frame. The latter half of the Tribulation
- At this time in the prophecy, at the sounding of the 7th Trumpet, there is no more delay
- These are the final days before Jesus returns to set up His Everlasting Kingdom, 1,260 days
- In these days, the mystery of God will be finished
- The mystery of God has always been about the Gospel and the reconciliation of God and man,
- It is the pre-pathed plan of God IN CHRIST JESUS
- 1 Timothy 3:16; Mysteries of the Kingdom- Matthew 13:11;44; Ephesians 3:1-12; Rom 11:25-36.
- Finally, now at the end of the Tribulation, in the days of the last Trumpet, the Mystery of the Kingdom will be finished... as He declared to His servants the prophets.
- It is the pre-pathed plan of God IN CHRIST JESUS
- This word “declared” is εὐαγγελίζω- to preach the Gospel, Luke 4:18; Rom 1:15; Heb 4:2; 1 Pet 1:25...
- Just as He preached the Gospel to His servants the Prophets
- The Good News, the Gospel, is that Jesus, the Messiah, has come and paid for the sin of the world, and He is coming again to usher in Everlasting Righteousness and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords
- And all who believe in Jesus will be saved and reconciled to God through Him.
- This Gospel was declared to the Prophets, and they wrote it down for us.
- Many times, the Prophets themselves had no idea of the timing or even what they were writing, but now on this side of the cross we have the revelation given to us, 1 Peter 1:10-12.
- The Book of Revelation is built on the Prophets of the Old Testament.
- We are in our 43rd lesson in Revelation and in almost every lesson we have drawn from that well of Scripture to help us understand this book
- Some examples are:
- Daniel 2- Nebuchadnezzar statue; Daniel 7- the four beasts; Daniel 9:24-27- 70th week prophecy
- Others in Isaiah; Jeremiah; Ezekiel; and many of the Minor Prophets...
- God proclaimed the Gospel, the Good News of the Kingdom, to all the Prophets, so they could write it down for us
- The completion of the Mystery of God is when God is living with us, His Church, physically forever in His Kingdom!
- This may be what the 7 Thunders are uttering.
- This is purely conjecture, but all through the book of Revelation we see thunder from Heaven.
- Apart from chapter 10... How many times do you suppose this occurs? Seven!
- This is purely conjecture, but all through the book of Revelation we see thunder from Heaven.
- Directly after the rapture of the Bride
- Tribulation begins as God expels ungodliness from His Kingdom and He invites John to “Come and see.”
- Response to the prayers of the Tribulation Saints and vengeance for their blood
- Response to the exaltation of the 24 Elders to God and His Kingdom
- In relation to the 144,000 redeemed from the earth
- The 7th Bowl was poured and a voice uttered, “It is done.” Then he says, “Come, I will show you...”
- In reference to the Marriage of the Lamb
The next 3-1/2 years of this prophecy are devastating as God’s wrath continues to be unleashed, and John gets a glimpse of this. The scroll is open, and John is told to eat it...
10:8-10) 8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” 9 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.
God’s Word is soooooooo sweet, sweet as honey, Psalm 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Many times in Scripture we are told to feed on His Word, feed on His Faithfulness, feed on Jesus, Ps 37:3; 19:10; John 6; Matt 4:4; Deut 8:3.
But as we feed on His Word, especially prophecy, there are chapters like Revelation chapter 9 that will make us sick when we truly understand the magnitude of the devastation of the Judgement coming.
- Bible prophecy is bitter-sweet.
- These are necessary, but very difficult steps to expel evil from this world
- The Prophets experienced this time and again,
- Daniel sick for days, Daniel 8:27
- He was greatly troubled, Daniel 7:15; 7:28
- mourned for three weeks, Daniel 10:2
- Ezekiel had a bitter-sweet experience, much like John, Ezekiel 2:10; 3:1-14
- Jeremiah ate God’s Word, Jer 15:16, and he describes it like a fire shut up in his bones, Jer 20:9. Even though he didn’t want to prophecy because of the intense persecution.
- Daniel sick for days, Daniel 8:27
10:11) And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
- God says, it’s not over yet. There is still more to come and must continue to prophecy about the Judgement coming on the world.
PREVIOUS LESSON 42 ← GO TO → NEXT LESSON 44